Mental health board director announces retirement, successor

Lorain County Board of Mental Health Associate Director Kathleen Kern will transition to executive director in May, upon the retiring of current Executive Director Charlie Neff, MBA, who has served the position since 1987. Kern has been with the organization for 10 years.
Eric Bonzar—The Morning Journal

After serving as the Lorain County Mental Health Board executive director for nearly 30 years, Charlie Neff is only five months away from passing the torch on to Kathleen Kern, the agency’s newly appointed leader.

The Mental Health Board announced its decision to make Kern the executive director in a Dec. 8 press release. Kern, who currently serves as associate director, will take on her new role on May 1, when Neff retires.

“I’m absolutely honored,” Kern said. “When I think about May it’s a combination of excitement and anxiety. I’m sure his shoes are going to be very, very difficult to fill, but he has given me an incredible gift in that over the last three years he has done everything possible to prepare me for the next step. He’s been generous with time and knowledge.”

Kern has worked with the Mental Health Board since 2007 and is a licensed psychologist with 18 years of experience in behavioral health. She said Neff gave her the opportunity to learn about the various facets of the board including fiscal operations, public relations and human resources.

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Neff, who turned 65 last month, said he thought about going 32 or 33 years before retiring, but eventually decided against it.

“It’s time,” he said. “I love what I do, but it’s time to let the next generation take over and lead the agency forward.”

As Neff got closer to reaching 30 years with the board, which will be in January, he said he started to think about what the future would hold for the organization.

“I really care about what happens once I’m gone,” he said. “I wanted to do everything I could to try to make sure that the next person who steps into this role is the best possible person that we could hope to get to lead the organization forward.”

That’s when he approached Kern more than three years ago. Due to the early preparations, which included helping Kern build relationships with community and state leaders, Neff said the transition should be close to seamless.

“I’m going to miss working at the board, but it feels good knowing Kathleen is going to be the one in charge,” he said.

Kern said her goal as executive director is to make sure the system they have remains effective and in tact. She said the strategic planning process, which takes about two and a half years, will start in January and she plans to use that information as sort of a road map to find ways to expand and improve.

In the past, Kern has designed and developed programs such as the Crisis Liaison Program that dramatically reduced the number of youth who are psychiatrically hospitalized and the number of youth who lack access to a provider after a crisis assessment. She has also coauthored grants and provided vision and support for multiple community coalitions.

“It’s bittersweet to announce my retirement,” Neff said in the release. “I feel privileged to have given 30 years of my career to the clients, consumers and providers of the Lorain County mental health network. Our board is a strong organization, and I am thrilled to be leaving it in very good hands.”